


Ampersand After Ampersand

by Chash



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Dork Jensen, M/M, sitcom situations, social maladjustment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-29
Updated: 2011-09-29
Packaged: 2017-10-24 04:10:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/258853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chash/pseuds/Chash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valentine's Day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ampersand After Ampersand

**Author's Note:**

> Livejournal informs me that [](http://twofourteen.livejournal.com/profile)[**twofourteen**](http://twofourteen.livejournal.com/)'s birthday is on Valentine's Day. I was going to post this on Valentine's Day so it would be a more legitimate birthday present, but then I remembered I would have guests and stuff and would probably forget like the winner I am. So! Early present for [](http://twofourteen.livejournal.com/profile)[**twofourteen**](http://twofourteen.livejournal.com/) for her birthday. Title From the Magnetic Fields.

Jensen has never had to deal with Valentine's Day before.

He considers it, overall, to be a pretty questionable holiday. Not because it's a plot to make men waste money on chicks they don't even like that much but just want to bone (Chad's opinion), or because it's no longer applicable to twenty-first century relationship norms (Gabe's opinion), or because it exists only to make single people feel bitter and alone (Mackenzie's opinion).

It just seems _pointless_ to Jensen. The actual saint to whom it is dedicated is lost. Its traditions are boring. And Jensen thinks that, honestly, you shouldn't have to buy chocolate and greeting cards to let your significant other know how you feel. There should be better ways.

But he has someone he loves now, someone he loves to the point of being illogical and unreasonable and stupid, and he thinks Jared is the kind of person who deserves a good Valentine's Day.

*

"What are you doing for Valentine's Day?" asks Jensen. Not because he needs ideas--he totally doesn't. He is all over this. He's just curious.

Gabe shrugs. "It's not a big deal."

"Really?"

"We talked about it," says Gabe, with a flush of pride that he can talk to his girlfriend, with real words, "and we agreed we don't really like Valentine's Day. It's a Saturday, so we're going to go on a date, but nothing special."

"Dude," says Chad, like Gabe has just said he is going to destroy the entire original series of _Star Trek_. "You cannot do that."

"Why not?" asks Gabe.

"Chicks who say they don't believe in Valentine's Day are traps, man."

"Traps like . . . traps?" asks Jensen, confused. "Like Bridget?"

"Sandy's not a guy!" Gabe objects.

"Trap like saying one thing and meaning the other."

"Oh," says Jensen. He's really glad Sandy's not a guy. That would be weird. "So you think she lied?"

"Chicks are always like _oh don't get me anything I don't want it_ but they totally do and if you don't get them anything they freak out and stab you."

"Sandy isn't like that," Gabe objects. Jensen is inclined to agree; she really doesn't seem like the stabbing type.

"They're all like that," says Chad, like he has any idea what he's talking about.

"You're the only one of us who's single on Valentine's Day," Jensen points out. "Why would we listen to you?"

"Cuz Gabe doesn't want the only girl who'll ever like him to dump his ass."

Gabe says something so quietly Jensen can't hear it.

"Speak up, tool," says Chad.

Gabe swallows. "I'm not buying her anything," he says, confidently. "But. I'm gonna tell her I love her."

Jensen and Chad stare.

Finally, Chad says, "Dude, you _rock_ at dating."

Gabe blushes.

*

Jared already knows Jensen loves him, so it's not like that's an option.

*

"Hi honey," says Jared, leaning down to kiss Jensen as he comes in. "I'm home."

"This is my apartment," says Jensen.

"Yeah, and half my stuff lives here," says Jared, stretching. His shirt rides up as he does it, of which Jensen heartily approves. "What's up?"

Before Jared came in, Jensen had been looking at Think Geek and hoping they had good ideas for Valentine's Day. So far, he has added one "I ♥ My Geek" t-shirt and one mix tape memory stick to his cart. He's pretty sure Jared will like both of them, but he wants something _more_. He closes his laptop quickly and follows Jared into the kitchen.

"Web surfing," he says simply.

Jared hums a little as he roots through the fridge. "You eat yet?"

"Nah."

"Am I cooking?"

"You always cook," says Jensen. Jensen sometimes tries to cook, but after he took about an hour trying to be sure he had _exactly_ one cup of flour, Jared said he was willing to be the girl in the relationship.

"Sometimes we go out."

Instead of answering, Jensen wraps his arms around Jared's waist and leans his head against Jared's back as Jared looks for whatever he's looking for. He's come to accept that Jared's love of physical affection is clearly contagious and that he's caught it, because there's no other explanation for how much he just likes being close to Jared.

"Miss me?" Jared asks, amusement clear in his voice.

"Shut up," mutters Jensen.

Jared straightens up, turns around and gives Jensen a proper, lingering kiss.

"Missed you too," he says, grinning.

*

Jensen is only half paying attention, still mulling over what to do for Valentine's Day--cook? Go out somewhere nice? He doesn't even eat in classy restaurants; it's not like they can have a romantic Valentine's meal at Big Boy--so it takes him a while to notice what Jared's got them watching.

He blinks several times once he does, to make sure he's not imagining things.

" _Homeward Bound_?" he asks.

"Dude, you've seen this?" asks Jared, sounding shocked.

"My sister likes it. Why are we watching this?"

"I like it too," says Jared, somewhere between defensive and defiant.

"Is this on the Disney Channel?" asks Jensen. "Since when do I get the Disney Channel?"

"Since you love me," says Jared, like this is a legitimate argument that follows reasonably from their conversation. It isn't, not even a little, but somehow Jensen still finds it completely convincing.

"You really want to watch this?" he asks, settling into Jared's arm, because he already knows the answer.

"I've been missing my dogs," Jared admits. "I get to see them when I head back, but it's not the same."

"You haven't been home in months," Jensen points out.

"Yeah, that too. Anyway, this is just, you know. Feel-good animal movie," he says, and then pokes Jensen in the ribs. "So shut up."

"I'm shutting, I'm shutting," Jensen grumbles, and he is, because he's busy _thinking_.

He's got a pretty good idea.

*

They're moving to Vancouver in May, when Jensen's lease runs out. Filming doesn't start until July, but Jensen's got a job lined up and he's actually surprisingly excited to move in with Jared, even if he's (also surprisingly) reluctant to leave his friends. Jared assures him that TV stars totally fly back to LA all the time, and that they'll visit, and Jensen believes him, because Jensen believes almost everything Jared says.

So they have three months left here, and Jensen thinks that he can work this out.

Even more than that, he thinks he _wants_ to work this out.

Love is so confusing.

*

Everything is perfect until February 10, when Jared says, "I'm so glad we're not doing anything for Valentine's Day."

They're at the mall, because their deal is that every time Jared takes Jensen to the comic store, they have to go somewhere Jared likes too. It's harsh but fair. Jared is trying to buy himself some new shirts in colors that Jensen thinks should be illegal, therefore the mall. But right now Jared's looking at a CVS display, bright pinks and reds and teddy bears.

"We're not?" says Jensen, shocked.

Jared turns to look at him. "We are?"

"Why wouldn't we be?"

"Because Valentine's Day is stupid. Why would we be?"

"Because I love you," says Jensen promptly.

"I know you do," says Jared. "That's why Valentine's Day is so stupid. You love me every day." He sort of stares at Jensen. "You hate Christmas but you like Valentine's Day?"

"No," says Jensen. "I don't hate Christmas or like Valentine's Day. But--I don't--" he looks away, blushing.

"What?" says Jared, sounding curious.

"I wanted to do something for you," he admits. Because--he doesn't do much for Jared. He loves him, and plays video games with him, and has sex with him as much as possible, but he never takes Jared out or anything.

Jared's expression softens. "Dude, you don't have to."

"I know," says Jensen.

"Okay," says Jared, finally, looking away to grin, like he thinks Jensen doesn't want to see it. "Okay, we'll do something."

"I'm doing it," Jensen protests. "You just come over."

Jared grins again, looks everywhere but at Jensen. "Yeah, I can live with that."

*

"So I was going to have candlelight," says Jensen, "but then I thought it was a fire hazard and so I didn't light them. And I was going to take you out but we couldn't go anywhere romantic and I didn't know what to cook so I just got some Thai off GrubHub and--"

Jared kisses him.

The lights in the apartment are low, so it's sort of romantic even without candlelight. Jensen did get an extension cord and put his Batman night light in the middle of the table, which is kind of like being romantic, for him. It clearly worked on Jared, because Jared's kissing him softly and happily, like this is the best Valentine's Day ever even though it's really pretty lame.

Seriously, there's a _Batman night light_ on the table. It's good Jensen somehow found Jared, because he's fairly sure no one else could ever love him.

"This is great," says Jared, resting his forehead against Jensen's. "Really. Man, I--thanks."

"It's not a big deal," says Jensen, shrugging uncomfortably under the weight of Jared's happiness. "It's just dinner. And presents."

Jared perks up. "You got me presents?"

"That's what people do," says Jensen.

"I love it when you talk about people like you aren't one of us."

"Shut up," says Jensen, without any heat. "Sit down and eat."

Jared never has to be told twice to eat, and they pass the meal comfortably; Jensen tells Jared about his newest experiment, Jared tells Jensen about the e-mails he's getting from his new co-stars. Jared's foot is a comforting presence against Jensen's leg, not flirting exactly, just _there_ , solid and warm. Affection for its own sake.

"So," says Jared finally, once they're done eating, "I heard you had presents for me."

Jensen tosses a box at his head, smiles as Jared flails and catches it.

Jared unwraps things carefully; his mother saves wrapping paper and Jared has learned the habit too. Jensen likes watching him peeling back tape, smoothing down creases, almost reverent. He likes knowing that Jared does this.

He pulls out the mix tape first, lets out a bark of a laugh.

"You made me a mix tape?" he asks.

"No," Jensen admits. "I got you a storage device so you can make me a mix tape."

Jared snorts. "I can't believe your gift has a built-in return gift. Oh, wait, yes I can."

"It's easier," Jensen mutters. "You don't have to worry about reciprocity."

Jared leans across the table and kisses him; his white shirt is lit, briefly and strangely, from the bottom by the Batman nightlight. If it was a candle, Jared would be on fire right now. Score one for Jensen.

Jared gets the I ♥ My Geek shirt next, immediately unbuttons his current shirt and pulls it on.

"Best Valentine's ever," he declares delightedly. Then, more seriously, "Really, Jensen. This is awesome."

Jensen rubs the back of his head. "There's one more thing."

"Sex?" asks Jared.

Jensen reconsiders. "Two more things."

Jared laughs. "Okay, what's the first one?"

Jensen hands Jared another package. It's in a bag, covered in tissue paper, because he knew he wouldn't have the patience to watch Jared unwrap it properly. Instead, he roots through and produces his gift.

"It's," Jared turns it over. "You got me a stuffed dog?"

Jensen flushes. "It's a placeholder," he explains.

"A placeholder?"

"When we get to Vancouver," Jensen explains, "I'm getting you a puppy."

It's clear from the way Jared's eyes widen that he'd never thought about that at all, never considered the possibility.

"You are?" he asks, a little shocked.

Jensen shrugs a little. "You want one."

The next thing Jensen knows, he's on the floor and Jared is kissing him hard, his hands under Jensen's head and back, cushioning him from the harsh floor.

"God," says Jared, between kisses, "you're. Jesus, Jensen, I love you."

Jensen is just barely managing to kiss back, because he's still a little dazed. "I know," he manages.

"You're amazing and--you're getting me a _puppy_ and moving to _Canada_."

"They have good health care," Jensen points out.

Jared pulls Jensen's shirt off, and quickly follows with his own.

"Are we having sex on the floor?" asks Jensen.

"Yes," says Jared, kissing down Jensen's chest.

Jensen thinks this is unsanitary and gross and possibly illegal. "Okay," is what he says, though.

Jared grins and unzips Jensen's pants, pulling them down and wrapping a giant hand around Jensen's dick as he sucks a hickey into Jensen's neck.

Jensen gasps, but manages, "This isn't sex."

"Mmm," says Jared, into his neck.

"This is--" Jensen starts, but Jared's other hand starts playing with his balls, so conversation rapidly moves from difficult to impossible, and Jensen just moans and writhes and comes all over Jared's hand in a matter of minutes, which would be very embarrassing if he thought Jared cared.

Jared nuzzles him happily. "Might have to revise my opinion on Valentine's Day," he says.

"If you don't fuck me right now, I'm never getting you anything ever again."

"Bossy, bossy," says Jared, but he does as he's told.

*

That night, curled up in the bed that is no longer just his, with his boyfriend drooling disgustingly on his shoulder, Jensen thinks that, really, there's nothing wrong with taking a day to tell someone you love them extra.

Just as long as they know you love them all the time too.

Then Jensen thinks that's ridiculously sappy, and that it's probably Jared's fault.

So he really can't bring himself to mind.


End file.
